USA > Ohio > Allen County > A standard history of Allen county, Ohio : an authentic narrative of the past, with particular attention to the modern era in the commercial, industrial, educational, civic and social development > Part 43
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THE ERIE SHOPS IN LIMA
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
locomotive reshaped the whole scheme of development, and shattered many plans and hopes. The 'Mad River' Railroad, first in Ohio, early became one of the most popular routes of reaching Lima from Southern Ohio points, as there was a stage coach operated from Huntsville to Lima ; the coach was driven on a bi-daily schedule, making the round trip every two days; the route was by way of Roundhead and the 'Back- bone.' In this quaint old coach, many an eminent jurist and the legal lights of the day, jostled in care-free way with young and old in the oft overcrowded vehicle that regularly negotiated the ups and downs of the devious and tedious journey ; it was of such journeys that McCauley, the writer, deplored the passing; when discussing the speed of modern travel, he said : 'We do not travel today-we merely arrive,'" and that empha- sizes the saying: "Lima is only over night from any place at all." With Pullman sleeper accommodations people go to bed in Allen County and waken in Chicago or New York. "Safety first," and "Stop, look, and listen," are now familiar terms to everybody.
In 1854, the first steam locomotive was brought to Allen County by canal from Toledo; it was called the "Lima," and was used for con- struction work on the first railroad built in the county ; it did not "steam" into Allen County, but came as freight to Delphos. The Indiana Rail- road, now the Pennsylvania, connected Crestline and Fort Wayne, and Allen County subscribed $50,000 in stock, but since it was later sold at par the railroad cost the county nothing. Many years ago, McCauley, who is the world's most renowned historian, said: "The chief cause which made the infusion of the different elements of society so imperfect, was the extreme difficulty which our ancestry found in passing from place to place; of all inventions, the alphabet and the printing press alone excepted, those inventions which abridge distance have done most for civilization," and it is well understood that distance is now practically annihilated from the face of the earth. Some one has said that trans- portation is civilization-that the sailing vessels brought the old and the new world together; the railroads brought the cities and towns together, and the automobiles have brought the towns and the country together- thus annihilating distance.
The passing of time emphasizes the statement that every stage of America's development has produced its special type of pioneer; the first son who came from northern Europe with the ax in his hand as an emblem of progress, hewed his way as far as the Allegheny Mountains ; the second generation of Americans crossed the mountains, and added the rifle to its equipment; the third crossed the Mississippi and the great waterways, annexing the boat; the fourth crossed the Rocky Mountains, and became the discoverers of the long, long trails as the horse carrying the cowboy with his lariat led the way; finally, the next pioneer in the advance of civilization, displaced the trail with the rail of steel, and his posterity has covered the whole country with a network of railways. The pioneer is not blazing new trails today, but he is covering the country again with more intensive development; in his wake, organized capital is taking care of youthful industries.
The pioneer of today is harnessed up with science and machinery ; he has for his agencies of development-coal, steam, gas and electricity. This combination is converting the trees of the forests into ships that sail over the seas, and aeroplanes that fly through the air; it is convert- ing the dry, dusty plains of the desert into wheat fields, and today there are no Great Plains in the Middlewest; it is bringing the jewels from the mines that are buried thousands of feet in the depths of the earth to the surface, thus supplying millions of people with heat and com-
BAKERY
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CAR LINE ON NORTH MAIN STREET
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY 1
fort, and all things considered it seems worth while for this secondary pioneer in civilization to sweep the country again. Intensive methods will secure a better development of natural resources. The railroads have opened up these possibilities to humanity.
While the railroad and the locomotive were strong factors in the nineteenth century development, the twentieth century thus far has seem- ingly witnessed only the beginning of the development of electricity; it was discovered by Benjamin Franklin while flying a kite, and every day new uses are being made of it; use of steam was first applied in 1680, by Sir Isaac Newton, and steam and electricity are two of the most valu- able agencies utilized in civilization today ; there are men and women still living who remember the first use of steam or electricity in Allen County. While the railroads have opened up the markets of the world to the community, the agriculture and live stock industries advancing with the increased market opportunities, and manufacturing following in the wake of transportation, it has not always been smooth sailing with the pro- motors; there has been a reported shortage of 800,000 cars in the trans-
AN OVERHEAD OHIO ELECTRIC CAR CROSSING THE PENNSYLVANIA TRACKS AT DELPHOS
portation system of the United States, leading up to the 1920 harvest season ; while steam transportation has been a civilizing and developing influence in the progress of mankind, it is certainly handicapped and its days of usefulness are materially curtailed by the competition of the high- way trucks all over the country. There is truth in the homely adage :
"The smallest fleas have fleas to bit 'em, And these have fleas Ad Infinitum."
While it may sound like propaganda, the assertion is made that private operation will make the railroads efficient again. The twentieth century cross-country traffic and travel was undreamed of before the government acquired temporary control of transportation; the traffic in horseflesh has declined all over the United States, and roadsters are not in demand because of the marvelous increase in the number of trucks, tractors and automobiles, and there has resulted a diversion of freight from the rail- roads that materially lessens their possible earnings ; while this transfor-' mation has been partially obscured by the labor shortage and the move- ment away from the farm, it is nevertheless a reality. The development of the gasoline motor is rapidly revolutionizing economics, with 8,000 motor vehicles in Allen County. The man going over in a balloon-ah, they no longer travel with parachute attachment, but the tourist flying
Vol. I-22
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
over Allen County today recognizes an excellent farming country with its network of transportation facilities.
Two transcontinental railways-the Pennsylvania and the Erie-cross Allen County east and west, helping to connect the Atlantic and Pacific with iron bands; two lateral roads : the Toledo, Detroit and Ironton, and the Great Central (C. H. & D.) from north to south connect the Great Lakes with the Ohio River, and there is a diagonal railway from north- west to southeast-the Columbus and Lake Michigan route, that would put Lima in touch with the world; however, it was only finished from Lima to Defiance, and has since been changed to an electric line; indeed it is said the railroad facilities are such that passengers may arrive from forty-four Ohio counties without change of cars; most Allen County towns are in direct communication by rail from Lima. The western part of the county is served by a branch of the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton road, and the Toledo, St. Louis and Western ; the Lake Erie and Western through the center, and the Northern Ohio, across the north part of the county : Delphos is a railway center, having shops located there. A local advertising medium says: "Lima has transportation facilities which are equalled by few cities of its size in the country, it has ten railroads in all directions; it has two trunk lines to New York; two trunk lines to Detroit; two trunk lines to Chicago; one trunk line to Indianapolis and St. Louis; one to Cincinnati; one to Cleveland and Buffalo," besides listing the direct connection with the coal fields in Ken- tucky and West Virginia. The Lima News and Times-Democrat exclaims: "Lima is the hub of a mighty industrial wheel with spokes of steel radiating in every direction; it is the manufacturing center of one of the richest agricultural territories in Ohio," and while the 1920 census shows an official population of 68,000, as a commercial center Lima draws its patronage from a trading radius of 200,000 population- there being two interurban railways, with their lines touching surround- ing cities in every direction.
The Ohio Electric and the Western Ohio, with their freight and pas- senger service, open up a great deal of territory contributing to the commercial prosperity of Lima. Everything seems to point to Lima as an economic center for the development of industry. The city has fifteen miles of electric railways operated by the Ohio Electric Company, and it is said the mule was emancipated in Lima in 1886-July 4th, when the first electric car in use west of the Allegheny Mountains, was seen in Lima. The town was full of people, although it rained all day; some would take a ride were there horses or mules to draw them. The Lima public square was full of people who "took the rain," watching the first electric car in the city. It was a curiosity-no horse or mule to draw it.
A few citizens of Lima have been empire builders, inasmuch as they were railway promotors. Senator Calvin Stewart Brice was a railroad promotor; while he had been admitted to the Allen County bar as a lawyer, he became identified with the legal department of a local railway, and from that time he was a corporation lawyer and railway financier; Mr. Brice accumulated a fortune; he went to New York where he pro- moted the Nickle Plate and sold it to the Vanderbilt system, and he cleared a million dollars on one deal; law was a stepping stone, and he entered politics, gaining a seat in the United States Senate, and being chairman of the National Democratic Campaign Committee: before his death he had developed a scheme for a seaboard outlet for the Lake Erie and Western Railway, diverging at Bluffton-the Northern Ohio via Akron and Youngstown. Mr. Brice and B. C. Faurot were active in the railroad world, while Dr. S. A. Baxter, Richard Metheany and others
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helped put Lima on the railroad by activities in early history. Doctor McHenry was also active in his effort to secure railway service. While Mr. Faurot accumulated money in his effort to place Lima on the map of the world, in later years when he turned his attention to industries outside of the community, it was the beginning of a long line of disastrous financial reverses ; he lost his money in Mexican railroad ventures. While Mr. Faurot had accomplished many things at home, foreign litigation and difficulties overcame him. When local inquiry was being made about Mr. Faurot, a workman standing by remarked: "When I worked for
Unton Price
$1.50 a day on the Ben Faurot railway, I saved money," and then he expressed regret that a man who had done so much for Lima and com- munity, should lose his fortune.
An old account says : "When the C. H. & D. Railway was projected, the right of way was paid for in stock which was plenty and priceless, and the land given was plenty and wet; the annual stockholders' meeting was held at Toledo or Dayton, and a free pass to either city was issued for each share of stock held, and as high finance even at that time had some tricks, there was stock enough issued to transport almost the entire population on the excursion, and those fortunate people who had many shares took their neighbors on the excursion, the greatest event of the
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year, and what a great day it was; people got ready long before, and many a spark was lit on those trips which started a fire that continued burning," and no doubt many had their first glimpse of the world outside Allen County. It is related of Johnzy Keeth who was a Spencerville pioneer, that he gave the right of way to the railway from the town through his own land reaching to the Auglaize River, while many held back for more money from the promotors, or refused to deal with them at all. There are always some men who are more public spirited than others; because of such men there are railways.
Among the public utilities, transportation is one of the foremost considerations; the twentieth century is an era of high pressure; the placid view that obtained some few decades gone by when the business of the world was conducted along lines at once dignified and marked with slowness that may at once be denominated as conservatism, is no longer applicable to the mad rush of present-day business activities ; changes come about, and events succeed one another with lightning like rapidity, and in nothing is progress more apparent than in methods of transportation. Visitors always get their first impression of a com- munity at the railway.station; it is to the advantage of the railway com- panies when the citizens of a community are prosperous, and they are contributing to the prosperity when through their passenger stations they present an attractive appearance to the stranger who visits the town. The railroads all maintain freight offices in addition to their passenger service, and consignments are sent to and received from all parts of the world in Allen County today.
While not much was said about the underground railway in Allen County in the Civil war, because there were not many Abolitionists in the county, there is now an underground transportation system that per- haps has more miles of pipe line than there are miles of iron bands serving the above-ground transportation. The pipe lines for oil cross many farms in other counties and other states, the circulatory system being necessary in order to maintain Lima as an oil shipping station. Oil quotations are Lima north and Lima south, and the local investment is such that there will always be an oil center in Allen County. While there are no passengers, there are track men who know the routes and keep them free from difficulties. While there is wealth in the land, many peo- ple farm over the pipe lines forgetting about the wealth flowing through them. While not much use has been made of aerial transportation, the underground commercial interests of Lima and community amount to vast sums of money each twelve months. While local production is light, Lima is still the hub of the oil industry.
The story is told of the accommodation train that started and stopped, and thus a belated passenger boarded it; when he asked if the train had stopped to get a fresh start, the conductor said: "No, only a fresh pas- senger." Query : who was it left Allen County that day?
CHAPTER XXXII
THE DISCOVERY OF OIL IN ALLEN COUNTY
Soon after the great Ohio gas field had been developed at Findlay in 1885, B. C. Faurot, ever alert to both private and community interests, brought drillers to Lima; the drill was sent down on the property of the Lima strawboard works in quest of water, gas or whatever product might underlie the territory, and the initial oil well in this part of the heritage was the result ; although it is no longer producing territory, Lima quotations control the market today. It is Lima north and Lima south, and the entire oil belt of the Middle West is regulated by Lima quota- tions. Lima and Allen County never have been regarded as gas produc- ing territory.
The local oil industry has produced millions of dollars for Allen County and Northwestern Ohio; at one time the biggest oil territory in the world was the Lima field. As soon as the success of the Faurot oil well had been heralded to the world by the newspapers, Lima sprang from an agricultural trading center over night to the dignity of a city ; while it was mushroom growth, the development proved to be of per- manent nature. In discussing the growth of Lima, many say that among its most loyal boosters was James A. Hover; an admiring friend exclaimed : "Mr. Hoover was one of the biggest hearted men the county ever knew, and there were but very few of the old-timers but what at some period of their lives received aid and comfort from this royal old gentleman.
"Mr. Hoover owned a large farm adjacent to the City of Lima in Shawnee Township; in 1886, the news went abroad that the Standard Oil Company was going to build a refinery somewhere in Northwestern Ohio, with Findlay and Toledo in the lead for the location; the committee on location was: Frank Rockefeller, with F. B. Squiers, a director, and Mr. Keith, an attorney for the Solar Refining Company ; at length Lima's time for consideration came, and after an inspection of various proposed sites Mr. Rockefeller informed the local citizens' committee that a por- tion of the James A. Hover farm, consisting of 151 acres lying between the C. & E. Railroad on one side, and the L. E. & W. Railroad on the other, was an ideal situation, and if the land could be secured the refinery would be located at Lima.
"When Mr. Hover was approached in the matter, he replied that in 1885 he had leased his land to the Trenton Rock Oil Company for drill- ing purposes, but he thought he could get a release from them without trouble, especially when such a big proposition as this for the City of Lima was at stake; he at once consulted the men representing the Trenton Rock Company, and was urged to go right on and fasten up things so the big plant would be secured; they said further that Mr. Hover should be taken care of without loss and the lease canceled; the deal was then made, Hover agreeing and contracting to the Solar Refining Company 151 acres of land for which he was to receive $17,500 upon the making of the deeds; then trouble began; the leaseholding company refused to cancel the lease unless the company was paid $10,000 in cash ; Mr. Rocke- feller was consulted, and said: 'Mr. Hover, although I have a valid agree- ment with you I will not see you held up in this manner. I will call everything off, and we will locate our refinery either at Findlay or Toledo.'
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"Being satisfied that this would be done, Mr. Hover replied : 'I have watched Lima grow from a village of less than a dozen houses until it is now a city with a big future; this is the greatest thing that ever was offered us, and if I can prevent it it shall not get away from us; it is a great loss to me, but you shall have the land you require,' and he finally compromised with the leaseholding company by paying $5,000; the Solar Refining Company took possession and it is now one of the biggest assets of the city; the sequel to the story is that several months afterward, Mr. Rockefeller again met Mr. Hover, saying: 'Mr. Hover, you are the squarest farmer I ever did business with; here is my personal check for $2,500; I will take one-half your loss while you are standing the other half,' the foregoing facts corroborated to William Rusler by a son of the grand old pioneer long since departed to be with his fathers," and now the public knows the amount of the subsidy given by Mr. Hover to secure the Solar Refining Company for Lima and Allen County.
About all that is left is the Solar refinery and the different companies dealing in oil commodities. While there was whirlwind development for several years, the decline of the oil production was the natural sequence. The Lima field soon rivaled the Pennsylvania field, and the Standard Oil Company at once established headquarters and still operates its business in Lima. While Lima will always be a center because of the facilities installed in the days of active production, there is little oil now being pumped in Allen County. The story reads like romance, and the men who reaped the advantages : Faurot, Jamieson, Brice, Baxter, Irvin, Wal- dorf, Metheany, Morris and ad infinitum, are all departed with the source of their wealth. The Solar Refining Company, the Buckeye Pipe Line Company and the Manhattan Oil Company all hark back to the days of local oil production.
The Lima Republican-Gazette in 1917, carried a series of articles on the discovery of petroleum in the Trenton limestone, written by H. D. Campbell that is a complete resume of Allen County oil developments. The existence of the petroleum or rock oil has been known since the beginning of time. Only some excerpts can be taken from Mr. Camp- bell's study, since it is so exhaustive as to fill many pages in the history. The American Indian gathered petroleum from springs and streams and used it for medicine, and when the white man came it soon obtained commercial recognition. Oil was discovered in Ohio as early as 1819 along the Muskingum River. In 1829 it was found flowing in Kentucky. There was no market for it, and no use was made of the product. As early as 1856, there was demand for oil as a medicine, and in 1858 it was utilized for lighting purposes. Following the invention of the coal oil lamp, refineries sprang up all over the country.
It was a New Englander, Col. G. L. Drake, who first commercialized the oil industry in Pennsylvania, and the newspapers have lately carried the story of the death of Coaloil Johnny who acquired fabulous sums and lost his money quite as rapidly in the Pennsylvania territory. George H. Bissell soon became interested in the oil industry, and he planned drill- ing for oil rather than skimming it from the streams, and August 25, 1869, he succeeded in tapping oil at a depth of seventy feet which yielded 400 gallons in a day, retailing at 55 cents, and great excitement resulted -this in Pennsylvania. Thousands of derricks sprang up, stock com- panies were formed and immense fortunes accumulated for some of the operators. Had Colonel Drake leased adjacent territory he would have controlled the situation, but he died in poverty. His partner, Mr. Bis- sell, had the necessary foresight and leased sufficient land to insure his fortune.
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HISTORY OF ALLEN COUNTY
LIMA OIL LIGHTS THE WORLD
The drilling of the Faurot well on the paper mill property was momentous in the future of Lima. As when Moses smote the rock, fountains of wealth gushed forth to gladden many hearts and enrich all mankind. A new spirit of energy was engendered which spread like wild- fire from Ohio, across Indiana and Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas, with developments in Kentucky and Tennessee. Thousands of derricks sprang up as if by magic, and as many wells poured forth their volumes of oil which has added millions of dollars to the world's wealth. The central part of the United States was the center of oil production in the world. Desert places soon blossomed as the rose, and the mortgaged farms developed into profitable holdings. Mechanics, merchants and manufacturers all enjoyed prosperity. Lima oil was soon lubricating the machinery of the world, and carrying the light of civilization to the four corners of the globe. The town soon became the commanding city of a large section of country. The impetus gained has never been lost and Lima is still a prosperous community. The story of the drill was the story of progress and achievements.
If the paper mill well had not been drilled in 1885, and the local dis- covery of oil had been postponed, the result would have been different in community progress. There was shortage of kerosene, and the money and men used in developing the field would have been elsewhere had not the drill penetrated oil in Allen County. This is the age of gasoline as well as steel and electricity, and when the first whiff of gas at the paper mill well indicated to the drillers that something was about to happen, gasoline was considered an almost worthless product. There was no such thing as a gasoline engine, and if the supply of petroleum had become exhausted the brains which perfected the gasoline engine and cleared the way for the automobile, the aeroplane and the submarine, must have been diverted into other channels, and these wonders of the world might yet be unknown, while the echo of the first oil well is the Standard Oil Company in Lima today.
HOW TO PUT LIMA OIL ON THE MARKET
The Standard Oil Company was soon recognized as the world's great- est corporation, as it cornered the Lima oil fields and went into the pro- ducing business, building the Chicago pipe line and becoming master of the oil supply of the world. Pennsylvania developments were duplicated in Ohio, oil being found on the water in many places and collected and used as medicine, these surface accumulations attracting attention as early as 1860, but developments beginning in Lima territory. Oil was found almost simultaneously in other Ohio counties. although State Geologist Orton said oil in paying quantities would never be produced from such rock as was found underlying Lima. Trenton rock takes its name from Trenton Township, Oneida County, New York, where there are waterfalls in picturesque form and the rocky formation is like that underlying oil territory all over the country.
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